Sumner: We need common-sense gun safety regulations

I support common sense gun safety regulations because gun violence in America is a true epidemic. There have already been 248 mass shootings in 2019 as of Aug. 7 and it’s only the 216th day of the year. Last week alone, we had a mass shooting at the Gilroy Garlic Festival in California, a mass shooting at a Walmart in El Paso, Texas, and a mass shooting at a bar in Dayton, Ohio. Every day in America, an average of 100 lives are taken by gun violence. There is bipartisan support for common-sense gun safety regulations. 66% of Americans support stricter gun laws. 87% support requiring background checks on all gun sales. 86% support blocking gun sales to people with a history of mental illness. 67% support banning high-capacity magazines. My own activism has had a lot to do with working to end the gun violence epidemic. Last year, I was the President of March for Our Lives ASU, working to advocate for common-sense gun-safety measures. I also organized the walkout for gun control a month after the Parkland shooting, which was the largest walkout in the Phoenix area. We must work to end the epidemic of gun violence in America. I believe that it is up to us to keep causing what congressman John Lewis refers to as “good trouble” to urge Congress to pass common-sense gun-safety legislation. We must keep protesting, writing letters, making phone calls and sending emails. We need common-sense gun-safety reform in our country. We can do more to end gun-violence epidemic. We must do more to end the gun-violence epidemic. We will do more to end the gun-violence epidemic.

Jacob Sumner Glendale

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